1 Chronicles 10–12

Death of Saul and His Sons

¹⁰Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.^{* 2}The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. ³The battle pressed hard on Saul, and the archers found him, and he was wounded by the archers. ⁴Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised may not come and make sport of me.” But his armor-bearer was unwilling, for he was terrified. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.^{* 5}When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died. ⁶Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together. ⁷When all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that the army^w had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled, and the Philistines came and occupied them.

⁸The next day when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹They stripped him and took his head and his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. ¹⁰They put his armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.^{* 11}But when all Jabesh-gilead heard everything that the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹²all the valiant warriors got up and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons and brought them to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

¹³So Saul died for his unfaithfulness; he was unfaithful to the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord; moreover, he had consulted a medium, seeking guidance,^{* 14}and did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord^x put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.^*

David Anointed King of All Israel

¹¹Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, “Look, we are your bone and flesh.^{* 2}For some time now, even while Saul was king, it was you who commanded the army of Israel. The Lord your God said to you, ‘It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over my people Israel.’ ”^{* 3}So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.^*

Jerusalem Captured

⁴David and all Israel marched to Jerusalem, that is, Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land.^{* 5}The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will not come in here.” Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, now the city of David. ⁶David had said, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites first shall be chief and commander.” And Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief.^{* 7}David resided in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. ⁸He built the city all around, from the Millo in complete circuit, and Joab repaired the rest of the city. ⁹And David became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.^*

David’s Mighty Men and Their Exploits

¹⁰Now these are the chiefs of David’s warriors, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.^{* 11}This is an account of David’s mighty warriors: Jashobeam, son of Hachmoni,^y was chief of the Three;^z he wielded his spear against three hundred whom he killed at one time.^*

¹²And next to him among the three warriors was Eleazar son of Dodo, the Ahohite. ¹³He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines were gathered there for battle. There was a plot of ground full of barley. Now the people had fled from the Philistines,^{* 14}but he and David took their stand in the middle of the plot, defended it, and killed the Philistines, and the Lord saved them by a great victory.

¹⁵Three of the thirty chiefs went down to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam while the army of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.^{* 16}David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. ¹⁷David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” ¹⁸Then the Three broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and they brought it to David. But David would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord ¹⁹and said, “My God forbid that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. The three warriors did these things.

²⁰Now Abishai,^a the brother of Joab, was chief of the Thirty.^b With his spear he fought against three hundred and killed them and won a name^c beside the Three.^{* 21}He was the most renowned^d of the Thirty^e and became their commander, but he did not attain to the Three.^*

²²Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant man^f of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds; he struck down two sons of^g Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.^{* 23}And he killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear like a weaver’s beam, but Benaiah went against him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear.^{* 24}Such were the things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did, and he won a name beside the three warriors. ²⁵He was renowned among the Thirty, but he did not attain to the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

²⁶The warriors of the armies were Asahel brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,^{* 27}Shammoth of Harod,^h Helez the Pelonite, ²⁸Ira son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, Abiezer of Anathoth, ²⁹Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, ³⁰Maharai of Netophah, Heled son of Baanah of Netophah, ³¹Ithai son of Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjaminites, Benaiah of Pirathon, ³²Hurai of the wadis of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, ³³Azmaveth of Bahurim, Eliahba of Shaalbon, ³⁴Hashemⁱ the Gizonite, Jonathan son of Shagee the Hararite, ³⁵Ahiam son of Sachar the Hararite, Eliphal son of Ur, ³⁶Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ³⁷Hezro of Carmel, Naarai son of Ezbai, ³⁸Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar son of Hagri, ³⁹Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth (the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah),^{* 40}Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹Uriah the Hittite, Zabad son of Ahlai, ⁴²Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite, a leader of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, ⁴³Hanan son of Maacah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite, ⁴⁴Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel sons of Hotham the Aroerite, ⁴⁵Jediael son of Shimri and his brother Joha the Tizite, ⁴⁶Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai and Joshaviah sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷Eliel, and Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

David’s Followers in the Wilderness

¹²The following are those who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul son of Kish; they were among the mighty warriors who helped him in war.^{* 2}They were archers and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right hand or the left; they were Benjaminites, Saul’s kindred.^{* 3}The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, both sons of Shemaah of Gibeah; also Jeziel and Pelet sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, Jehu of Anathoth, ⁴Ishmaiah of Gibeon, a warrior among the Thirty and a leader over the Thirty; Jeremiah,^j Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah, ⁵Eluzai,^k Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite; ⁶Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites; ⁷and Joelah and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were swift as gazelles on the mountains:^{* 9}Ezer the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third, ¹⁰Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, ¹¹Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, ¹²Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, ¹³Jeremiah tenth, Machbannai eleventh. ¹⁴These Gadites were officers of the army, the least equal to a hundred and the greatest to a thousand. ¹⁵These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was overflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys to the east and to the west.^*

¹⁶Some Benjaminites and Judahites came to the stronghold to David. ¹⁷David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship, to help me, then my heart will be knit to you, but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, though my hands have done no wrong, then may the God of our ancestors see and give judgment.” ¹⁸Then the spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said,^l

“We are yours, O David,

and with you, O son of Jesse!

Peace, peace to you,

and peace to the one who helps you!

For your God is the one who helps you.”

Then David received them and made them officers of his troops.^*

¹⁹Some of the Manassites deserted to David when he came with the Philistines for the battle against Saul. (Yet he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines took counsel and sent him away, saying, “He will desert to his master Saul at the cost of our heads.”)^{* 20}As he went to Ziklag these Manassites deserted to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of the thousands in Manasseh. ²¹They helped David against the band of raiders,^m for they were all warriors and commanders in the army.^{* 22}Indeed, from day to day people kept coming to David to help him until there was a great army, like an army of God.

David’s Army at Hebron

²³These are the numbers of the divisions of the armed troops who came to David in Hebron to turn the…